Hydraulic fracturing is one of various oilfield operations used to extract products from underground formations. In hydraulic fracturing, a fluid is generally pumped down a wellbore at one or more of a pressure or flow rate sufficient to fracture a subterranean formation. After the fracture is created or, in some instances, in conjunction with the creation of the fracture, proppant may be injected into the wellbore and into the fracture. The proppant can be a particulate material added to the pumped fluid to produce a slurry. The proppant can prevent the fracture from closing when pressure is released, which can provide improved flow of recoverable fluids (e.g., oil, gas, or water).
Some fracturing operations may use a manifold system, often referred to as a missile, which can be connected to multiple fracturing pumps. In some arrangements, the missile can receive a fracturing fluid at low pressure from a blender and can deliver the fracturing fluid to the fracturing pumps. The fracturing pumps can pressurize the fluid, which can be collected by the missile from the fracturing pumps and delivered into a wellbore. Certain embodiments disclosed herein can improve fracturing operations in which a missile is used.